Macbeth

The Monster Within
Every now and then people who are trusted the most in one's lifetime end up being the same people who become disloyal and betray those whom they love. This event leads to two paths, one in which a person tries anything to redeem themselves and another where selfishness takes over. Likewise, Macbeth by William Shakespeare and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini use the main characters from their works to demonstrate that sometimes without a second thought, betrayal takes place. They also show how some characters use betrayal to their advantage while others redeem themselves, as well, how even those who stay loyal end up having to pay the same price. At the end however, how people react to the guilt that they encounter in the past is what makes them who they are in the future. Macbeth and The Kite Runner both show how the main characters betray those who respect as well as trust them. Macbeth's eyes are blinded by the power of the throne and he will do anything just to obtain it. Since no one expects Macbeth to betray anyone close to him, he takes this as an advantage and says to himself “a false face must hide what a false heart doth know.”(I, vii, 94-95) With this in mind, it is evident that Macbeth betrays Duncan, Banquo and the whole of Scotland. He uses his innocence and trust that he gained from others to hide what his true intentions are and ends up betraying many people just for the good of himself. Similarly, in The Kite Runner the main character Amir is troubled by the guilt that builds inside of him after he betrays his best friend- Hassan, his father- Baba and Hassan's father -Ali. All these characters are betrayed by Amir revolving around the same topic of when Amir says to himself "I watched Hassan get raped" (Hosseini 91). Hosseini shows how Amir reacts with this betrayal by having him come up with many different plans all with…...

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...In Macbeth, ambition is characterized as a dangerous quality. Ambition is the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which triggers the murders that take place in Macbeth. Although, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is ambition, it is the driving force of the play which is influenced by Lady Macbeth and the three witches.
Lady Macbeth plays a major role in the downfall of Macbeth. She influenced and convinced Macbeth to commit the murder about Duncan, believing that the power would bring both of them happiness. Lady Macbeth says “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise thee with the valour of my tongue. (Shakespeare 353)” It is as though Lady Macbeth is Macbeths bad conscious. She remarks, that she will solve his dilemma by poisoning his mind with her evil plan of murdering Duncan. Unlike her husband she is made of sterner stuff and has no moral scruples because she is evil to the core and decides to convince Macbeth to murder the king. This is the first murder victim of Macbeth. After the death of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth commits suicide which it is another breaking point of his down fall.
Macbeth’s quest and desire for the power caused him to become a man of no emotions. Macbeth is an easy person to persuade and convince. Since the three witches gave him his prophecies, Macbeth’s character changed gradually over the course of the play. He became obsessed with making sure the prophecies come true as well as having a strong desire for power......

...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S
MACBETH
LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD
S E R I E S
E D I T O R S :
W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D.,
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS
and
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth
2
INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The......

...Macbeth- Shakespeare
Caroline Rebry
January 8, 2010
Mr. Salciccioli
In the Shakespearean story Macbeth, the character Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife, is one of Shakespeare’s most forcefully drawn female characters he has ever created. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. She is one of the only characters in the play that could persuade Macbeth the way she does. Her sly and cunning plans lead Macbeth to fulfill her desires of becoming King and Queen. As well, her incredible mind tricks cause her husband to continue to achieve their goal as becoming King and Queen. Considering the relationship between cause and effect in the play, Lady Macbeth, through her manipulation, deceptiveness, and mind games, is one of the characters who is more responsible for Macbeth’s crimes in the play.
When we first meet Lady Macbeth, she is already plotting Duncan’s murder, and she is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. She seems fully aware of this and knows that she will have to push Macbeth into committing murder. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness, overriding all his objections; when he hesitates to murder, she repeatedly questions his manhood until he feels that he must commit murder to prove himself. Lady Macbeth questions,
Was the hope drunk
Wherein......

...correlated in the play of Macbeth since his impulses and desires greatly affect its surrounding especially while having the authority over a country. Macbeth experienced the fall of his very own ambition which granted him his very own demised. Evil describes Macbeth’s human nature and not only does he experience it, he consults with it too. The witches are highly regarded as a freak of nature which promote evil, as for Macbeth they were his advisors therefore he will make his decision based on the prophecies where they are immoral or virtuous. In consequence of Macbeth’s embracement of his best human quality (Evil) he called upon himself a death sentence.
Shakespeare reflected greatly on the position of the king discreetly without stirring up too much controversy particularly on the theory of “Divine right of monarchs”. Though Macbeth attained the power of the thrown he did it through an unorthodox way excluding him from the power of God therefore made him susceptible to any pending attacks. Having Macbeth steal the thrown from Duncan in such a despicable manner is an offense to the Almighty and a violation to the natural order. Shakespeare puts great emphasizes on the legitimacy of his current non-fictional king by creating a psychopath of a king called Macbeth. Macbeth tyrannical decisions lead to his dismiss by others mutinying against him in; seem like Shakespeare borrow some inspiration from the actions of the gun powder plot in 1605. Macbeth can certainly relate to......

...How does Shakespeare present Macbeth and his wife as they commit regicide?
In this scene Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are committing regicide and attempting to frame it on Duncan’s chamberlains. Throughout the scene Shakespeare uses different techniques to convey and present to the audience the contrasting personalities of the two characters and the reactions as their guilty consciences take control.
Shakespeare uses the idea of sleep to represent Macbeth’s guilty conscience. Macbeth describes sleep as being ‘sore labour’s bath’ this suggests that he sees sleep as being a cleanser of the soul after a hard day but feels guilty over the regicide and believes that only ‘The innocent sleep’. The use of a semantic field of food ‘second course…life’s feast’ also supports the idea of sleep being beautiful and soothing. A feeling that neither Lady Macbeth nor Macbeth are expected to feel and experience due to their crime.
Soliloquies throughout the scene engage the audience and allow them to understand the emotions of the particular character. Defying the laws of physics, Lady Macbeth compares her feelings to the drunken chamberlains in ‘what hath quench’d them, hath given me fire.’ This implies that what has caused the chamberlains to be drunk has filled her with power. The contrasts of Macbeth’s feelings throughout the scene are also conveyed later on during his own soliloquy when he says ‘every noise appals me.’ His conscience is obviously weighing on his mind and is causing him......

...3/17/14
Eng III
Essay
In the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, Macbeth’s verge of sanity is lost when given the upper hand which employs how power leads to the flaw of his ambitions and also to his corruption and demise. Macbeth acquiring the wealth and absolute threshold of the throne isn’t the only power that he can taste. The three witches that supposedly help out Macbeth with future truths that persuades his beliefs of having the advantage and full control. Once he has this mindset becoming a lunatic isn’t that hard which then his guilty conscious becomes in the way with hallucinations and no sleep.
A perfect phrase fits into this situation and it states that when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. The witches provide truths to Macbeth leading to him overthinking what could be the ending possibility. Thus convincing himself because of the half truths told by the evil witches from the beginning of the play were seen as incredibly beneficial. “Commencing in a truth? I am thane if Cawdor”(I: iii: 140).
Throughout his evil desire for power his lady trash talks Macbeth into proving himself otherwise causing a big influence to act on him forcing his actions. She has the chance to be queen as much as Macbeth so persuading him would be the easiest and best way to becoming powerful. Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth about being a man and not having the guts to do it. Eventually he gives in and kills the king a long with the guards being spread with blood as they were drunk......

...Logan Bern
English 703
Mr. Orr
November 11, 2014
The use of Blood in Macbeth
Throughout the play Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor, soon becomes the King of Scotland. But the way he goes about becoming King is a little unorthodox. “Thou play’dst most foully for’t.” (Shakespeare 3.1.3). Violence and the bloodshed that results are important symbols in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. While the blood that is spilt is a definite reminder of the outcomes of misused power, it also serves as an image that provokes Macbeth to reflect upon his deeds, even if he does not change his behavior. Macbeth and his wife both become obsessed with the blood on his hands. Unfortunately, this reminder of his guilt does not prevent him from continuing violent acts.
Blood is also used to symbolize murder, like when Macbeth sees a dagger floating leading him to Duncan, which was dripping in blood foreshadowing the slaughter of the King. Guilt is a very powerful emotion and we see Macbeth and his wife absolutely tortured by it. After killing King Duncan, Macbeth obsesses about the blood on his hands. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.” (Shakespeare 2.3.81-84). Lady Macbeth is never actually seen doing anything evil, other than corrupting Macbeth, but she suffers just as much as he does. “Out, damned spot! Out I say!” (Shakespeare 5.1.34). This is evidence of her guilt, because in this scene......

...Jekyll and Mr Hyde and William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, I will explore the struggles the main characters’ have within themselves in their fight for good over evil. How Macbeth and Dr Jekyll change throughout the stories and explore the similarities of each of them and why they came to change. These two books are worlds apart from one another. ‘Macbeth’ is about a great warrior who fights for the King and is set in medieval Scotland, while ‘The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is set in the upper classes of Victorian England where everything is done correctly and bad behaviour or wild ways are not tolerated. Dr Jekyll is a Physician who is curious about separating the good side of a personality with the bad and begins to experiment and invent potions to control the evil side of a person. However, both of these books have mystical themes about them, the witches in ‘Macbeth’ that can see the future and plant the seed of success in Macbeth’s head and the strange disappearances of Dr Jekyll and the sudden mystical appearance of a Mr Hyde. These main characters, Macbeth and Dr Jekyll evolve from being heroic, well-respected men into twisted, ruthless killers and their nature completely changes throughout their lives. Both characters become so obsessed with ultimate control they are prepared to remove anyone who gets in their way or tries to stop them from reaching their final goal. The obsession of their ambitions make both, Macbeth and Dr Jekyll eventually turn their......

...Acton once said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the tragic story about the kind of destruction ambition and the struggle for power can cause. Even the noblest of people are corrupted by the idea of power and will do anything to achieve it. Symbolism, irony, foil, theme, and imagery are some of the literary elements and techniques Shakespeare uses to portray Macbeth, the protagonist, as a greedy tyrant willing to sacrifice all others to accomplish his goals. Shakespeare not only represents Macbeth as the protagonist, but also as an antagonist to himself and others in the play. The author characterizes Macbeth at first as an honorable man willing to fight for the freedom of his kingdom. Shakespeare foreshadows to the reader a developing change within Macbeth’s character after his encounter with the Weird Sisters. His convene with the witches arouses in Macbeth the idea of becoming king. The motivation for Macbeth to become king spurs from the prophecies told by the witches in the beginning acts of the play, which were evidently coming true as he gained the title “Thane of Cawdor” as the prophecy stated. Below the surface Macbeth is a melting pot of emotions, which engaged his character in the idea of becoming a supreme ruler undoubtedly causing him to commit shameless acts.
The character of Macbeth is usually described as being flawed by ambition, but this interpretation is......

...tragic and heroic life. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the titular of the play is a great example of a tragic hero. Firstly, Macbeth is already of high status from the beginning of the play, and is brave in battle to win the war for Scotland; surely this makes him a hero. Next Macbeth’s tragic flaw is his, that is a desire for power and to be king. These flaws play an important role in the outcome of his life. Finally Macbeth’s obsession with the prophecies, and the murders he commits mainly leads to his downfall or periopetria. Although, a hero usually lives a triumphant life their personality can lead to their downfall and death.
Too start off with Macbeth’s bravery and courage won the day for Scotland in defeating Norway and Macdonowald. First, brave and loyal Macbeth storms through the battle with Banquo defeating Sweno, in an insane fight for which his, “brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution.” Macbeth fought so courageously that the battle “ memorized another Golgotha.” In this case Macbeth is definitely a hero. Second, in the beginning of Act 1 scene 2 Duncan is in Awe of how valiant and noble of a soldier Macbeth is. “ O valiant cousin! Worthy gentlemen.” Even though Macbeth is Duncan’s cousin he is till filed with absolute joy about Macbeths accomplishment. Third, the king promotes Macbeth to thane of Cawdor. “ And with this former title greet Macbeth.” As Duncan takes this title away from the traitor and awards it to Macbeth, he becomes even more......

...
Macbeth
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth’s unmanageable hunger for power caused him to make menacing decisions that descended him into madness, despair and evil, just as Hitler has done in past history.
According to Wikipedia, “power is the ability to influence or control the behavior of people. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings”. I agree with this quote, because that is a statement that both Macbeth and Hitler lived by being the power hungry leaders they were.
Macbeth in the beginning on Shakespeare's play was decent man, he was a noble soldier. In the first act, Macbeth is described by Duncan as a kind and brave hearted soldier. ”Like valor’s minion carved out his passage, Till he faced the slave; Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, Till he unseamed him from the nave to th' chops,” (Act 1 Scene 2 19-20 ). This portrays Macbeth as a fearless, and gutsy in the face of his enemies, the Thane of Cawdor.
Leader of Nazi Germany, the creator of genocides and arguably solely responsible for the European half of the Second World War, Adolf Hitler (considered to be one the most evil persons the world has ever known), probably needs no introduction. Hitler was of similar status to Macbeth. Adolf Hitler before labeled an absolute ruler......

...Writing a Macbeth essay is not as difficult as it may seem. There is much information and critique materials on Macbeth which you can find online. Besides, you can find tips from professional writers or even order a custom essay with a professional essay writing company, like Professays.com. We have written more than a dozen essays on Macbeth both for high school and college students. We know what it takes to write a persuasive Macbeth essay that your professor will highly evaluate. Some of our writers specialize in literature essays, and some of them are Shakespeare fans. So, they will be delighted to write a nice Macbeth essay.
Macbeth Characters
Most essays on Macbeth are written on Macbeth characters. These are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Three Witches, Banquo, King Duncan, Macduff, Malcolm, Hecate, Fleance and others. Each of the character possesses some unique features and that is why it is easy to write on them. Try to make a exhaustive analysis and penetrate deep in character’s souls. There are so many events, monologues and dialogues in Macbeth that can be used as arguments supporting certain ideas and evaluations. Essay on Macbeth characters are quite popular among students. In fact, over 80% of all Macbeth essays are related to analysis of this tragedy’s characters. Professays.com has writers who specialize in Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies. So, feel free to contact us. Our writers will take into account all your requirements and recommendations.
Macbeth......

...In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth, Macduff, and Banquo were quite similar and quite different from one another, but all three of them still had important roles throughout the play. However, Macbeth, Macduff, and Banquo played either an evil, villainous role or a gallant, heroic role.
Macbeth’s prophecy was that he was to become king of Scotland. Macbeth is friends with Banquo and he has a high status, rank, and respect for others. Macbeth and Banquo met the three witches together and they told them both about their futures. Before Macbeth killed the king he thought “If chance will have me King, why chance may crown me, without my stir.”(p.336) He takes a noble action on his prophecy and doesn’t let fate take its roll. Once Macbeth became king he let his power control himself, and treats everyone unfair but his wife. When Macbeth found out that Banquo thought that the witches had told some things, Macbeth started to have visions of the daggers floating in the air before him with the tip of the dagger aiming toward Duncan. He thought he heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep” (p.352) Macbeth tried to grasp the imaginary dagger and failed. After Banquo’s ghost came to haunt him it started to make him suspicious and show that he is the one that killed him.
Macduff is loyal to the king and the brave soldier. He is a father who cherishes his children and he is happy with his life. He was always a trustworthy person he never had disloyal or greed within......

...Macbeth: Macbeth - A Human To A Killer
In Shakespeare's play Macbeth the character Macbeth proves to be somewhat
dynamic in his human representation. He starts off as being very human; he is
actually a war-hero. However the seed of change is planted right away when he
meets the witches and they tell him their prophecy of him becoming king. This
makes Macbeth ambitious, and it leads to his demise. Once he kills Duncan the
change rapidly begins to accelerate. By the end of the play, and Macbeth's
killing spree, his transformation is complete and all of his human thoughts and
feelings are gone. Macbeth changes from being a great individual to the focus of
everyone's fear and anger, because he loses his human characteristics of
conscience and remorse.
As the play starts Macbeth is very human; he has feelings and friends and
he is a war-hero. As time elapses, he begins to change into a ruthless killer,
"a tyrant". Once he meets the witches and learns he will become king he begins
to plot and think murderously. When he arrived at a plot to kill Duncan, and
told Lady Macbeth, he realized it was the only way. However, in doing this he
made a lot of people suspicious. This meant that more people would have to be
killed, and this included the king's son who was next in line for the throne. At
this point Macbeth experiences the first of a number of breakdowns, and he
begins to lose his human......

...summary of Act 1
Macbeth is the famous play written by William Shakespeare. The play it takes place in Scotland. The king of Scotland is Duncan, and The Scottish army is at war with the Norwegian army.
In act 1, scene 2, Duncan learns of Macbeth’s and Banquo’s trust worth and bravery in a battle against a Scottish betrayer who sided with the Norwegians.
As Macbeth and Banquo return home from battle against the Norwegians, they suddenly meet three weird witches.
The ugly and foreign witches predict that Macbeth will be thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland one day, and that Banquo will be the father of kings. Which gives Macbeth a lot to think about.
After the meeting with three witches, Macbeth gets a new title as thane of Cawdor, as predicted. And therefore Macbeth sees an oppitunity to become king and he begins to contemplate the murder of Duncan in order to realize the witches' second prophecy.
Duncan meets Macbeth and announces that he is going to visit him at his castle. Macbeth rides ahead to prepare his household for a big feast. In the meantime, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth, which says tells her about the witches' prophesy and his new title. The news gives Lady Macbeth strength to lose her of feminine softness and values and thus prepare herself and Macbeth for the murder of Duncan. When Macbeth arrives, Lady Macbeth tells him about her plans of Duncan's murder. Macbeth becomes skeptic of the idea of killing Duncan, but Lady Macbeth taunts......